Chrysler Shines as Ford and GM Decline

By WSJ Staff

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A Jeep assembly line in Toledo, Ohio.

U.S. auto sales continued at a brisk pace in April although the total volume of vehicles sold increased only slightly due to a quirk in the calendar, lower sales to rental fleets and weaker deliveries from General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co.

Annualized sales were at a 14.4 million pace, according to researcher Autodata Corp., indicating that auto purchases in the U.S. remain on track to rise by 10% or more this year compared with 2011. Auto makers expressed confidence in the sales over the remained of the year.

GM on Tuesday said it has boosted its industry sales forecast to between 14 million and 14.5 million new cars and trucks compared with a previous outlook of between 13.5 million and 14 million vehicles.

“We expect gradual improvement in the economy going forward,” Don Johnson, GM’s vice president of U.S. sales operations, said in a conference call on Tuesday. That trend, he said, would allow consumers to “gain even more confidence and drive vehicle sales higher for both the industry and GM.”

Overall U.S. new-auto sales for the month rose 2.3% from a year earlier, to 1.18 million cars and light trucks, Autodata said.

April was a mix with Chrysler Group LLC and Toyota Motor Corp. reporting strong gains while others posted declines. Part of the reason was that last month had three fewer selling days than April 2011, an unusual occurrence that can lower sales totals by as much as 11%, according to analysts.

GM said it was hurt by a big drop in sales to fleet operators, such as car rental companies. Its sales to consumers were flat. Overall, GM’s April sales fell 8.2% to 213,387 cars and trucks. Ford had a big month of fleet sales, which contributed 37% of its total, but its April light-vehicle sales fell 5.1%, to 179,658, amid drops in sales of the Escape sport-utility vehicle, Fiesta compact and Crown Victoria sedan, which has gone out of production.

“The momentum we have seen at the start of the year is continuing and there is no indication of a slowdown,” said Jesse Toprak, an industry analyst with automotive website TrueCar.com. “The industry kept the same selling rate and best yet, it lowered incentives.”

One bright spot for all three Detroit auto makers was higher sales of pickup trucks, which bring in big profits. Sales of GM’s GMC Sierra and Chrysler’s Ram trucks both rose about 19%. Chevrolet pickup sales rose 5%.

Ford, whose pickup sales increased 4.4%, got help from buyers like Joe Opsahl, whose family construction company, RMK Concrete Foundations, is based in Stockbridge, Mich. A few weeks ago, he had enough of his 2002 Mercury Mountaineer and decided to do something he hadn’t done in 20 years—he bought a brand new vehicle.

“I’ve always bought used, and it was about time I got something new,” Mr. Opsahl, 38 years old, said from a job site. Using a discount available to his wife, he paid $27,000 for a silver Ford F-150 truck with a six-cylinder engine. “The money was there, and a lot of work is coming in, so I was comfortable” buying a new truck.

Toyota, bouncing back from production disruptions of a year earlier, when Japan was hit by a massive earthquake, said its U.S. sales rose 11.6% in April from a year earlier to 178,044 vehicles.

“There is no doubt the Japanese auto makers will be back in the market with high inventory and competitive in fleet sales,” GM’s Mr. Johnson said.

But Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. slumped compared with a year ago. Honda’s sales fell 2.2% to 122,012 vehicles, despite heavy discounts and promotions on the Civic compact and other top-selling models. Nissan’s sales declined less than 1% to 71,329 vehicles, with Nissan brand sales off 0.9% and Infiniti brand sales up 5.4%.

Sales of GM’s battery-powered Chevrolet Volt fell 36% from March to 1,462 vehicles. GM halted production of the Volt in mid-March due to slow sales and resumed production a week earlier than planned last month. The results were still more than the 493 the company sold in April 2011.

Volkswagen of America said it sold 37,525 vehicles in April, a 31.5% increase over a year earlier. Its sales of the Jetta sedan, the auto maker’s best seller, were about flat for the month compared with April of last year. Company officials said they haven’t seen evidence that the newly redesigned Passat was taking sales away from the Jetta.

Volkswagen is expanding its U.S. operations, saying last month that it will add 150 new jobs through 2018 as it builds a 30,000-square-foot expansion to its credit office in Libertyville, Ill., scheduled to be completed early next year. Earlier the company said it would add 1,000 jobs at its manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., to meet growing demand for the 2012 Passat.

Comments (3 of 3)

As for your Theory, then I guess that Both Land rover & Jaguar were American car companies when Ford owned them right??? WRONG!

As for the the foreign company that are assembled here in the United States that means nothing! When a company brings in a profit it always goes back to the country of origin & helping that countries infrastructure! The Japanese don't buy any American cars in Japan for one reason, they have pride in their country & they support their countries companies & products.

Ford is doing just fine, they are making world class products & they have a solid line-up. As for the two vehicles you & your wife drive, good for you. But i'm quite sure your more about 'status' than you are product. I would hate to live that way. I can say for certain that Daimler products are some of the Worst junk on the road. Their quality is horrible, they are overpriced & their product is pure Junk! As for BMW's i can't speak about them, however usually the people who own them are jerks.

Lastly I would never tell anyone what to drive, i only share my own experience. As for what people are choosing to purchase notice that Chrysler is leading the entire auto industry in sales gains, market share increases & expansion. I have no problem that Marchionne is taking charge & helping Chrysler come back. Fiat has been in the same situation as Chrysler before & beat the odds, just as Chrysler has. Chrysler is still as American as apple pie & soon the entire world will be purchasing Chrysler products & enjoying them. Watch & see just how quickly the New Dodge Dart starts taking Sales from The Asian Compact market. Only for 1 reason because The Dart is the absolute best most competitive small car on the market. Chrysler is back & everyone know that!

11:20 pm May 2, 2012

Robert88117 wrote :

antonio311, what drugs are you on?

Chrysler is a foreign company now, owned by Fiat of Italy. GM's Dan Akerson said that he didn't know IF the tax payers would ever get repaid for the bail outs. That doesn't sound optimistic to me.

Ford's Alan Mulally is the only one with a plan and a company able to pull off a successful comeback. But aside from the F150 sales they're not doing too well in competition with the Camry.

Aren't you forgetting all the Americans that are employed by Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru, Mercedes and BMW who are grateful to have a job because the American car makers couldn't hack it?

There's nothing wrong with foreign-brands. Many of them are American-made and good enough to be exported to other markets.

I say, let people buy what they want. Let them exercise their freedom to choose what they want to drive, and let the best brands win, even if they happen to be foreign. I choose an American-made Mercedes-Benz. My wife drives an American-made BMW. Both of those are better than anything that we have owned from Ford, GM, Toyota or whatever.

7:02 pm May 1, 2012

antonio311 wrote :

Chrysler is back & outselling Toyota for 1 reason only! : Because Chrysler makes a safer vehicle & Chrysler is finally making 'world class' vehicles & people know it! Chrysler is getting stronger & GM & Ford are doing just fine! American care are as good or better than any imports! Buy an American car because the product is outstanding & you can feel great when u drive a product that is a domestic!